20.3 today (at mile 34). 4915ft

I blink and it’s morning.  The sky is getting lighter and lighter and I delay the inevitable for as long as possible before  my body forces my movement to a nearby bush or otherwise threatens embarassment of great proportions.

My feet are still tender. I attacked them with needle and thread and betadine last night but they were so swollen from the day that it was tricky. Swelling is down now and I have 3 large mean blisters to contend with. I take my time getting them right and finally leave camp at 8am.

10 miles to the next cache and I take a mini break halfway. My feet are not happy with me. Socks off and hanging on a tree to air, feet elevated, I hang out for a good 30 minutes.

Finally hiking on the little brown box of riches appears and I guzzle some water and read the log book. There’s a note from Boat and Cloudbuster that they are hanging at the nearby road crossing under a wee bit of shade. I look over and see some movement so I gather my things and hobble over.  I figure this is the last I’ll see of them as they are keen on 25ish miles per day, and I don’t want to do more than 20 in the first section to break me in, especially with my stooopid feet.

A beautiful nap in the tiny shade then off cross country following the signs. There’s some cloud cover and nice mild weather which is great for hiking.

My afternoon is peppered with many many breaks, rabbits hopping across the trail, little climbs up and over hills and down and up through washes.

 

I am slooooow. Soore Sore feet. I am ready to be done after 18 miles but there’s no good campsites and a climb up ahead. Future Snakebite will thank me for doing it now.

So up and over I go and find a little spot halfway down. The wind is a bit nuts but the sunset stunning as I set up my little tarp in case the clouds get mean.

Somehow I’ve managed just over 20 miles on my rotten feet! The blisters are very unhappy with me and I’m crossing everything they get better overnight. I’m going to sleep well.

Alternate Blog Entry (because the CDT is all about alternates):

There once was a girl from Perth
Who wanted to hike ’round the earth
Her feet started dying
With blisters she was crying
But the trail was surely worth (it)
(Hopefully) (blisters crossed)